Debunking the Myth of “Isco’s Missing Minutes” – A Deep Dive Analysis

It is widely accepted that Isco is not getting enough minutes at Real Madrid. But has this idea perhaps been overblown? Alex McVey believes it has been. In this deep dive, he debunks the myth of “Isco’s Missing Minutes.”

Introduction: The Hullaballoo Surrounding Isco’s Game Time

Francisco Román Alarcón Suárez, known simply as Isco.  How can you not love this guy?

The bearded little man Ray Hudson has branded the “bandy-legged beauty” has won the hearts of Madridistas around the world with his slick dribbling, intense work-rate, outrageous close control, and, as the video below shows, he has the ability to score a whole mess of goals from a variety of angles and in a variety of styles.

Yet somehow, the ex-Malaga man cannot seem to consistently find his way into Zidane’s starting eleven. There seems to be a near constant complaint from the press, Madrid fans, and even Isco himself, that Isco is simply not receiving enough minutes.

Isco told reporters from BeinSports that he would consider leaving the club at the end of the season in order to get more game time: “I’m calm,” Isco declared, “What worries me is to have minutes.”

Isco’s perceived lack of game time has also generated a firestorm of attention on social media. A brief perusal of the tweets below gives you a small sample of the demand from Real Madrid fans that the little magician receive more minutes:

The problem of Isco’s minutes has been so well-documented that even Real Madrid’s coach Zinedine Zidane was forced to recognize that Isco and Alvaro Morata deserve more game time.

There is a certain kind of paradoxical thinking at work in the clamor about Isco’s minutes. On the one hand, Isco has to have played at least enough to have proven to the Madrid faithful that he is worthy of a starting berth.

On the other hand, the consistent commotion about his minutes seems to indicate that he has not played nearly enough to keep Madrid’s fans happy.